‘Call me “Nazli”!’

The eccentric, jealous character of the widow Begum Nawazish Ali is not completely out of depth – thank God of small allowances. When she is not offering ‘”Thai” food’ to her guests, (Umer Sayeed was a target of that one, and kept his droopy smile just drooped), she can engage her intellectually inclined guest well. Though her antics – the flirtatious eye-flutters, the “Hai Allah!”, the jumping out of the ever-diminishing blouses – aren’t exactly taste fodder for the thinking audience, me thinks she does make a delightful conversationalist.

Though I missed the episode where Faraz Ahmed Faraz was tortured when the brainless Meera declared actors Shan, Moammar Rana, and Babar Ali ‘national heroes,’ I had a good time watching December 11th’s talk with Faryal the ever rebellious Gohar.
Faryal Gohar is now probably known more for her activism than for her acting; which, too, was often in highly politically-charged plays. She is among the many artists who are always up for a cause. More universally, until his death in 1989, it was the Pakistani dictator-president Zia-ul-Haq who drew the chagrin of the likes of Faryal Gohar.

Faryal laid out her objections on the role of United Nations (UN), of which she has been a former goodwill ambassador. She stated that she believed the UN’s priorities were misplaced or not correct to begin with. She was also, as is typical of her and her sister Madiha Gohar, critical of Zia-ul-Haq and his policies.

Politics aside, it was a bit surreal. In a richly adorned lounge sat this beautiful, tough-minded lady with ‘Begum’ Nawazish Ali – who was, thankfully, very gracious this evening and indulged in a thoughtful conversation. It was surreal to hear the elegant Faryal talk about her heritage and lineage. As the easily-incensed Nawazish remarked, it was an enviable account. (Personally, I only remember Faryal for one thing in an old interview: she’d like to keep a donkey among other animals on a small farm when she grows old. When does she grow old!?)

It was an interesting interview. So delighted was Nawazish Ali with Faryal Gohar’s opinions and her ‘beautiful choice of words’ (It was “Zia-ul-Haq usurped power.” He didn’t just overtake, as most would say.) that she declared, “You can call me Nazli!”

He is often called Faraz Ahmed Faraz a la Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Faraz is the ‘takhallus’ (poetic signature) of Ahmed Faraz.

Hafsa:

Yes, on second thought, I did feel a post was in order to clarify my personal view: transvestitism raises the strictest of condemnation not only in Islam, but it has also been the subject of curiosity the world over. Nowhere in human society has this become mainstream – though such characters remain a cultural curiosity.

i am not disagreeing with you but what would be the solutioin if one wants to expose problems faces by hijras in our society?

as far as associating every islamic statment with Mullahs only,its very pathetic,if i ask another muslim to pray Jummah,i shouldn`t be called as Mullah,since we ain`t christians who suppose that only Nuns and Pope are responsible to pray,rest are free as their ‘Father Jesus carried away all their sins’

Ladies and gentleman, iam sure you have never heard a more sad and heartbreaking story in your life….i only got to see a glimpse of the episode of this show with two of my most favorite T.V personalities of the past and future dacades…while channel surfing just because at that point in time the REMOTE was in the hand of an authority figure (under 8…)

without going into religious debate, the show is not that bad afterall.. i thought Jamal Shah episode was fun! specially the lady (what was her name?) with him who proudly explained her affairs with Pandit Nehru!